I went to Stride Rite because I cannot figure out what size shoes to put on babies and wanted to know for sure. There were only two people in the store: a cross looking lady and a kind older man who waved at the babies when we first walked in. Can you guess who I asked to help? Sadie was the first out of the stroller, sized, and put back. She threw such a fuss about being back in her seat that the man told me it was fine to let her cruise around the little store while we took care of Blake. She did, and she knocked quite a few pairs of shoes off the shelves. When he had our measurements and knew what style to look for, he went to the back for quite some time then came back with 10 pairs or so.
This time when he sat down, Sadie went right over to him and put her hands up as if she was asking to be picked up. He was delighted and plopped her on his lap as he put 5 different pairs on her feet, acting all great-grandpa-ish. I didn't really think it was necessary to try on so many shoes because, honestly, I was not planning on actually buying ANY there. Those shoes are not in our budget. The last time I spent that much money on a pair of shoes for myself was a couple of years ago when I bought my tennis shoes I still wear. Babies grow out of shoes too quickly to invest that much in them. I knew I could find some online later; I just needed to know what size. But, she was having such a nice time with all the shoes (they're her thing), and the salesman was enjoying her company, so que sera sera.
A little later, Sadie was still on his lap as we figured out what shoes worked best for Blake. I knew how much the shoes were, but I needed a way out of the situation, so I asked. The man said, "These here are $42, but they're half off." Hmmm. Well, I wasn't going to buy $42 shoes, but for a first pair of good walking shoes, I could rationalize $21. I told him we'd take them.
Right then, Owen announces that he has to poop. Right then. Hurry. It's starting to come out. I'm mortified. We've been working on making these announcements in more subtle ways, but apparently he forgot. We're led to the back room, and when we return the man already has up rung up. The total is nearly $80, and I know that this won't fly with my pocketbook or with Tim. I only wanted to buy Blake's shoes, but how could I say that to the sweet man who spent so much time with us and took such a liking to Sadie? How could I let her be Shoeless Jane leaving that store? So before I paid, I asked if it would be possible to return the shoes if my husband had a problem with how much I spent. He said I could, so I paid for them intending to return them in a couple of days. No harm done.
A couple of days later, I try to return them, and an elderly woman is the only salesperson in the store. She tells me that I can't. I tell her that I can. She tells me that I will only get $21 for them. No, they were the $46 pair. She says, "Yes, but our policy is that when you are returning them, you only get half the price back."
Now, I am not in the habit of fighting old ladies, but I was pretty annoyed. Then the cross woman from before walks in from her lunch break. "She's the manager. She's who you need to talk to." Well, turns out it was a buy one, get one 1/2 off sale. I did not know that. If I did know that, I wouldn't have bought any shoes. I'm certainly not going to return them for half price. There you have it, Sadie finagled $46 shoes. And she LOVES them!
They are pretty cute though!
These are Blake's 1/2 price pair. Oh! Forgot to say, when I got home after the first trip, I got online and bought Sadie 3 pairs on ebay, brand new for a total of $31. All Stride Rite: brown, black, and tennies. So, she actually has 4 pairs that she will outgrow in no time.
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